I had only once heard of synesthesia prior to beginning to play the piano  –  in my high school psychology class. According to my former notes, “Synesthesia is a neurological disorder in which an individual perceives two sensations simultaneously –  for example: seeing a letter of the alphabet and thinking of a color.” Although sufficient for the AP exam, this definition is not entirely accurate, especially in its classification of synesthesia as a “neurological disorder.”

As defined by Drs. Cytowic and Eagleman in their book Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, “synesthesia,” in terms of its Greek origin, literally translates into “joined sensation.” Although a variety of forms of synesthesia exist, among which the aforementioned grapheme-color synesthesia is the most prevalent, the form of synesthesia that will be discussed here will be colored hearing, or the visualization of a color(s) upon hearing a sound.

As I mentioned, my second encounter with synesthesia occurred during the course of one of my earlier piano lessons, during which my instructor, Tom, a man in his early sixties or so, had me listen to a few select pieces and then attempt to imitate the harmony of the tunes. As I was trying to discern the notes of the first tune, Tom, seated behind me, remarked aloud, “Ah, yes, now here’s the nighttime cascade of colors… the blues and the violets… all merging, ribbons of color rushing together to form the final smooth stream of smooth indigo.”

Although I hadn’t thought much of this description at the time, after a few more instances similar to this, I realized that Tom might, in fact, be a synesthete. Following another such incident, I asked Tom whether he had always envisioned colors when listening to music. He explained that ever since he had been young and began listening to music, a kaleidoscope of colors would appear and seem to “dance” in accordance with the rhythm of the music. As the song first begins, he said, each individual note played corresponds to a different color; however, when the beat picks up and the individual notes coalesce to compose a harmony, then cascades or fireworks of colors begin to appear and scintillate according to the music.

When asked whether he always visualizes colors while listening to music, Tom said that he only sees colors when listening to music for pleasure. During lessons, he is much too focused on the actual tempo and cadence with which his students are playing to have enough time to enjoy the musical piece. Before continuing to discuss Tom’s synesthetic experiences, a brief overview of synesthesia, specifically of colored hearing, will aid in classifying synesthesia as a gift rather than a “neurological disorder” or “condition.”

Synesthesia, as defined previously, is the ability to experience more than one sensation simultaneously. In the case of music-specific colored hearing, while most individuals only hear sound while listening to music, synesthetes, in addition to hearing the sound of music, are capable of visualizing certain images or colors simultaneously. True, while listening to music, the average person does tend to experience mixed emotions and therefore, often draws to mind different images and memories. However, in contrast to the average person, a synesthete’s sensory experiences are persistent, permanent, vividly experiential, and normally unidirectional. For instance, as an example of unidirectionality, a colored-hearing synesthete may see a particular color when a specific musical note is played; however, in seeing that color, the synesthete will not normally call to mind the associated musical note.

It’s no surprise, then, that synesthesia has been found to be most prevalent among creative individuals, specifically among artists, musicians, and novelists. Accordingly, famous synesthetes include composers such as Michael Torke and Jean Sibelius, popular musicians such as Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder, painters such as David Hockney and Wassily Kandinsky, writers such as Vladimir Nabokov and Solomon Shereshevskii, and even physicists like Richard Feynman, among many others.

And lastly, regarding its physiological connection, similar to most sensory experiences, synesthesia too originates within the brain; however, in contrast to most sensations, synesthesia is unique in that it results in the simultaneous stimulation and activation of more than one region of the brain. Regarding colored-hearing synesthesia, colored-hearing synesthetes have been found to display three distinct characteristics, all of which are exhibited by Tom. These characteristics include improved learning, enhanced creativity, and a more positive outlook.

Aside from being able to experience more than one sensation while listening to music, Tom, similar to most reported synesthetes, has also been gifted with an incredibly lucid, photographic memory, thereby enhancing his learning ability. For instance, Tom is able to listen to a new piece once and then play the piece over again, solely from memory. When asked how he is able to retain so much, he explained that it helps to associate each note with a different color or pattern so that when he is required to play the piece in the future, he needs only to recall the “rainbow” of notes that he once heard.

In order to assess whether the preceding claim was true, I once played a series of notes for Tom in a staccato fashion, or, in other words, disjointedly. After I played each note, Tom reported which color he had seen and then proceeded to identify the note that I had played. For instance, a ‘D’ was purple, while the associated flat and sharp notes were slight variations of the color purple, with the flat being dark purple and the sharp being lavender.

In addition to this incredible memory and thus improved learning capability, Tom also exhibits a rather enhanced sense of creativity. In playing a piece after listening to it only once, Tom, unlike most individuals, is able to interweave into the new piece flats and sharps where he feels inclined. For instance, a classic, somewhat mellow Indian song that I played for him once unexpectedly became a contemporary Indian-fusion jazz piece after he played it. Similarly, in playing a classic piece as well, Tom is able to slightly nuance the harmony with each successive performance. As an example, the classic song “Aura Lee,” or now more popularly known as Elvis’s “Love Me Tender,” a sensuous piece as it is, evolved into an even more emotionally poignant and cathartic piece as Tom was playing it.

He is also capable of revising notes as he is listening to me play a given piece.  For example, the first time that I played the song “Intensity” during a lesson, I followed the natural sequence of the notes written on the sheet music. However, once I played the ‘E’ note, Tom suddenly demanded that I stop playing, as the note that I had played did not “flow” well with the preceding “colors.” Tom then proceeded to edit the sheet music so that the “colors made sense when played together.”

In addition to this amplified sense of creativity and incredibly sharp memory, it can be said that Tom is more optimistic than the average person. It may be the colors that Tom sees while listening to music that tend to promote a sense of optimism in him, for he seldom becomes irritated or moody. Considering that I’ve only been playing the piano for approximately seven months, it is astounding that Tom never loses his patience with me. Despite my mess-ups and re-dos, Tom still manages to calmly listen and instruct. When asked how he manages to put up with me and my mistakes, he responded that it intrigues him when he is able to “see” so many different “waterfalls of colors” in one piece.

Normally, my lesson begins with Tom playing a piece that he wants me to work on throughout the lesson. Although the aim is to play this piece correctly, my main goal during each lesson is to play the original “waterfall” that Tom had seen. However, hardly ever am I able to play back this “waterfall” on the first attempt. I stumble and stutter throughout the lesson, struggling to replay the original piece. Along the way, I hear “Not quite,” “Almost there,” and then finally the “There you go!” that I was hoping for. It is along with this final, successful attempt that Tom reveals the colors of the “waterfall” that he initially saw. Essentially, while I absolutely dread making the mistakes that I do while attempting to replay the original piece, Tom enjoys these mess-ups, as he is able to “see” additional variations of his original “waterfall of colors.”

It can thus be said that as a result of his synesthetic-like sensations, Tom, like most reported synesthetes, experiences the world much more richly than the average person. Whereas I can only engage in the auditory sensation related to music, Tom is able to engage in both the visual and the auditory sensory experiences while listening to music. In addition to this ability to experience more than one sensation while listening to music, Tom, similar to most reported synesthetes, possesses an improved learning capability due to his incredibly sharp memory, an enhanced sense of creativity, and a more positive outlook. Because of these additional capabilities, synesthesia should be termed a gift rather than a “neurological disorder” or “condition,” despite its physiological irregularity, as it allows the synesthete to appreciate more than simply one facet of a sensory experience.

Giby George is currently a sophomore at Drexel University, majoring in biological sciences with a pre-med concentration.